xx, 393 pages : 25 cm

"From Roosevelt to Truman investigates Truman's foreign policy background and examines the legacy that FDR bequeathed to him. After Potsdam and the American use of the atomic bomb, both occurring during Truman's presidency, the United States floundered between collaboration and confrontation with the Soviets. The resolution of this debate represents a turning point in the transformation of American foreign policy. This work reveals that the real departure in American policy came only after the Truman administration had exhausted the legitimate possibilities of the Rooseveltian approach of collaboration with the Soviet Union."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-367) and index

Preparation : the making of an (American) internationalist -- Inheritance : Franklin Roosevelt's uncertain legacy -- Initiation : tactical reversal, strategic continuity -- Instruction : Truman's advisers and their conflicting advice -- Negotiation : Truman and Byrnes at Potsdam -- Intimidation : Hiroshima, the Japanese and the Soviets -- Indecision : floundering between collaboration and confrontation -- Transformation : Truman's foreign policy

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